The drill press was originally designed for metalworking shops, however, a lot of woodworkers such as myself, often make accessories or jigs such as this one to adapt the drill press to suit our woodworking needs.

To give my drill press more table surface, I built a new table using two layers of ¾” maple strand-core plywood, and applied ¼” x 1 ½” eastern (white) maple edge banding.

The table I made is 30″ x 18″, but you can adjust the size to suit your particular needs. To keep it looking good, I made a 4″ replaceable center disc by drilling a 4″ hole in the top piece of ply before attaching it to the bottom piece. I made up several replacement discs so that I can replace them as needed.

To give my drill press a fence I made a simple plywood box, from ¾” and ¼” maple plywood. I put a 4” hole for a dust port on the back. It collects about 85 percent of any shavings and dust. There is also a cut-out to accomodate the drill press column, which I lined with a piece of 6″ white plastic piping, cut in half.

Along the front of the fence I placed two pieces of “T” track, and used ⅜” toilet bolts for hold-downs and stops. The fence is adjustable from back to front, and the stop can be placed on the right or left side of the fence. The two pieces of “T” track, routed into the table top, make the fence both secure and easy to position.

A drill press vise can be helpful when you need to hold down smaller parts as you drill.

I recently found a small revolving table that I use to hold a set of bits, and a few other things, right where I need them. The table can be pushed back out of the way when not needed.